To keep up to date with the latest personnel changes across the seafood industry, SeafoodSource is compiling a regular round-up of hiring announcements and other personnel-related shifts worldwide. If you have an announcement, please send it to [email protected].
- Paul Stephenson has stepped down as managing director of Thai Union-owned, U.K.-based seafood company John West. According to his LinkedIn, Stephenson joined the company in May 2020.
This comes four months after John West announced its profits had dropped around 78 percent in its FY 2022, following the decision to hike prices on a number of its products.
- Anacortes, Washington, U.S.A.-based seafood producer Sugiyo USA appointed Shawn Oliver as its business development and sustainability manager. Before joining Sugiyo, Oliver previously worked at major supermarket chain Giant Eagle as a seafood category merchant.
According to his LinkedIn, Oliver worked at Giant Eagle for nine years before joining Sugiyo in February 2024.
"Sugiyo Snow Legs are one of this industry's best-kept secrets, and I have a really big mouth. I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to represent an incredibly responsibly sourced and affordable protein. This product has been part of who I am since I worked behind a seafood counter. I'm thrilled to introduce it to the rest of the world,” Oliver said in a release.
- Biddeford, Maine, U.S.A.-based seaweed company Atlantic Sea Farms appointed Ruby Dombek as its kelp supply specialist. Dombek has a background in kelp farming, having worked on farms in Alaska, California, and the Faroe Islands.
"We are so excited to welcome Ruby to our expanding supply team. We are building a new industry and a proof of concept in the U.S. – one that has legs both in Maine and other coastal communities in the U.S.,” Atlantic Sea Farms CEO Briana Warner told SeafoodSource. “We are proud to welcome Ruby, who has had experience working in kelp and with individual kelp operators in Alaska and are eager to continue to grow [alongside] her experience."
Dombek started in February 2024. She graduated from Boston University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in health sciences, according to her LinkedIn.
- Erik Skontorp Hognes has been appointed as a senior advisor for the Norweigan seafood advisory company INAQ.
“Returning to the seafood industry feels like a homecoming, and I’m eager to contribute my expertise in sustainability,” Hognes wrote on LinkedIn. “At INAQ, I’m looking forward to collaborating with an exceptional team ... to enhance sustainability efforts within the seafood industry.”
Hognes's previous job was at Aker Carbon Capture as an advisor for a year and a half, according to his LinkedIn, but his "homecoming" stems from his nine-year role as a researcher at Norwegian ocean research firm SINTEF Ocean.
“Erik Skontorp Hognes has more than 15 years of experience working with sustainability in Norwegian industries. He has worked both as a researcher and consultant, with a focus on life cycle analysis and sustainability management. As a researcher at SINTEF Ocean, Erik has contributed to calculations of the carbon footprint of Norwegian seafood products. He has also helped several companies strengthen their competence in sustainability and establish climate and sustainability reporting,” INAQ wrote on LinkedIn.
- Zaandam, the Netherlands-based supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize USA has appointed Marc Stolzman as its chief sustainability officer. Stolzman will manage all aspects of health, sustainability, compliance, financial reporting, and regulatory matters, according to Grocery Dive.
“As we work through important and complex sustainability efforts in the next several years, including eliminating carbon emissions, bringing to market healthier products, stopping food waste, reducing single-use plastics, and more, Marc’s proven leadership and deep financial background will be instrumental in driving our ambitious goals,” Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman said.
